1.02.2009

Egypt: The other side of Gaza's story

“Why aren’t you as an Arab lady writing about Gaza?”
“Where are your columns about Gaza?”
“Say the Israelis are wrong!”

The messages started to arrive soon after Israel’s bombardment of Gaza killed close to 300 Palestinians. Implicit was the pressure to toe the party line, Hamas is good, Israel is bad. Say it, say it! Or else you’re not Arab enough, you’re not Muslim enough, you’re not enough.

Mona El Tahawy, an Egyptian columnist based in New York, started her last article “Israel is the Opium of the People and Other Taboos”.

The last Israeli attacks on Gaza not only had impact on the Palestinians or the Arabs but also by those living in Egypt who have witnessed a different story unfolding.

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